(Updates to close)
SYDNEY, July 25 (Reuters) - The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO closed 0.64 percent, or 35.4 points higher at 5,533.6, helped by a big lift in the shares of Woolworths WOW.AX after the supermarket chain said it would close stores and cut staff numbers.
Woolworths ended 8.2 percent higher at A$24.30
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 finished up 1.3 percent, or 91 points at 7,317.3.